The Princeton municipal property tax rate will hold steady at 50 cents per $100 of assessed value, under the 2021 municipal budget approved by the Princeton Council at its May 24 meeting.
The proposed 2021 municipal budget that was introduced at the Princeton Council’s March 22 meeting carried a three-cent increase in the municipal property tax rate, which would have bumped it up from 50 cents to 53 cents.
But after several tweaks to the $67.2 million budget for 2021, Princeton officials eliminated the tax rate increase, despite a $3.1 million increase over the 2020 municipal budget of $64.1 million.
The 50-cent municipal property tax rate, which includes the municipal open space tax and the library tax, means the owner of a house assessed at the Princeton average of $841,064 would pay $4,205 in municipal property taxes.
A Princeton property owner’s tax bill includes the municipal property and open space taxes, the school district tax and the Mercer County property and open space taxes. Property taxes are levied on residential and non-residential properties, with the exception of those that are tax-exempt under law.
The main source of revenue to support the spending plan is property taxes. The amount to be raised by property taxes to support the 2021 municipal budget is $35.5 million – down from $37.6 million as proposed in the budget that was introduced in March.
The tweaked budget uses more money in surplus funds as a source of revenue than in the initial budget that was introduced in March. That version used $9.2 million in surplus funds, but town officials dipped into the surplus account and will use $11 million to help balance the budget.
Miscellaneous revenue totals $19.3 million. This includes revenue from licenses, fees and permits, municipal court fines and costs, the hotel and motel tax, and parking meter and municipal parking garage fees.
The town expects to generate $61,000 in licenses for alcoholic beverages, and $310,000 in fees and permits. Municipal court revenue is expected to be $450,000, which is a decrease from $600,000 in the 2020 municipal budget.
The hotel and motel tax is expected to produce $200,000, down from $328,000 in the 2020 budget. Gov. Phil Murphy’s lockdown orders to prevent the spread of COVID-19 affected hotel occupancy.
Princeton University will contribute $3.6 million as its fair share toward the budget.
Payments in lieu of taxes from the Institute for Advanced Study amounts to $250,000. The Tenacre Foundation will contribute $500,000.
Additional payments in lieu of taxes include $350,000 from Princeton Community Village and $80,000 from Elm Court.
Princeton will receive $2.4 million in state aid as a source of revenue. The amount has not changed in many years.